In the oil and gas industry, cementing is a technique employed during many phases of borehole operations. For example, a cement slurry may be employed to cement or secure various casing strings and/or liners in a well. In other cases, cementing may be used in remedial operations to repair casing and/or to achieve formation isolation. In still other cases, cementing may be employed to isolate selected zones in the borehole and to temporarily or permanently abandon a borehole.
Portland cements have been used in the oil and gas industry. However, in order to meet the demands of a particular well application, Portland cements must often be admixed with various chemical compounds to customize the properties such as density, temperature stability, viscosity, and the like. Because of the complexity of the applications and demanding temperature and pressure conditions, the cement system design can be complex. For offshore operations having limited access to equipment and various individual additives, it can be cumbersome to design suitable cementing compositions that are tailored for specific well conditions.
Because of the extensive use of cement in the oil and gas industry, the art would be receptive to alternative materials and methods for cementing wellbores. It would be an advantage if the alternative materials can be conveniently manufactured while still producing comparable performance as conventional cements.